August 22, 2023
Lauryn Hill is commemorating the 25th anniversary of her debut solo album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," with a tour that includes a stop in Philadelphia.
The Fugees – Hill's hip-hop group – are co-headlining the North American leg, which comes to the Wells Fargo Center on Monday, Oct. 23. The 17-city tour kicks off Sept. 8 in Minneapolis.
Hill began her solo career in 1997 after two albums with the Fugees, the trio that includes Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel. "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," released Aug. 28, 1998, is a neo-soul album that fuses Hill's rapping and singing abilities. It was met was critical acclaim, garnering 10 Grammy nominations and five wins, including Album of the Year. It also was the first album to receive a perfect rating from the hip hop magazine XXL.
Hill's Miseducation Tour in 1999 featured the Atlanta rap duo OutKast as its opening act.
"'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' is and was a love song to my parents, my family, my people, my musical and cultural forebears, my teachers, my loves, my Creator," Hill said in a press release. "I wrote love songs and protest songs — (still love songs) about the subjects and interests that inspired and moved me. I was confident that what inspired me would resonate with an audience that had been led to believe that songs of that kind could only live in the past."
The album is considered among the best ever made. In 2020, Rolling Stone listed it as the 10th greatest album of all time. Last year, Pitchfork named it the second-best album of the 1990s. And in 2017, NPR ranked it as the second-greatest album made by a woman.
The album has led to various tributes over the years, including a reimagined Miseducation-themed Ms. Marvel cover. To celebrate the album's 20th anniversary in 2018, Billboard spoke to 16 artists, including Jazmine Sullivan, Lizzo and Chloe Bailey, about the impact Hill's music had on them.
"Even at age 11, I knew there was something different about this album," Sullivan said. "It drew me in immediately, more than anything that was being played at the time. It felt classic. Most albums at the time seemed to be over-produced — every riff and phrase perfectly constructed. But Lauryn's just felt like it was flowing from her soul."
Earlier this summer, Hill played 10 songs from the album during her performance at the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia. They included "Doo Wop (That Thing)," "Ex-Factor" and "Nothing Even Matters."
Tickets for the Oct. 23 show go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. A presale for Citi credit card members begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
